Duty Calls: Let's Vote!

Submitted by BWC on Oct 24, 2012

A recent survey of 1000 self-identified Jews, conducted on behalf of the national Workmen’s Circle organization by the well-regarded sociologist Steven M. Cohen, revealed that while this cohort as a whole cares about Israel, it’s how a political candidate addresses economic, social, and environmental issues that are the critical determinants of how they’ll vote. Among other things, the survey found that issues driving the Jewish vote include support for regulating financial institutions, progressive taxation, and more government help for the needy. We care about social and economic justice, and we vote accordingly.

Here’s a sampling of the often-illuminating findings: For starters, 81% said that being Jewish in their lives was either very important or somewhat important, and 77% acknowledged the role of their Jewish identity in shaping their political identity.

How about this one: while 87% responded that neither they nor anyone in their household was a member of a union, 75% said that the rights of workers are either extremely important or very important to them. The survey also found that, on hearing of a strike by a union against a large company, before knowing any of the details, 62% replied that their first reaction is to side with the union.

Along the same lines, 60% of respondents “agreed,” or “strongly agreed,” that government should do more to help the needy, and 65% favored raising federal income taxes for people who make more than $200,000 per year.

And in ranking the significance of issues, 74% of surveyed individuals said poverty was either “very important” or “extremely important” to them, while 70% said the same about economic justice, and 65% about racial inequality.

These survey findings interface interestingly with a sobering op-ed in the October 21 Sunday New York Times, “Candidates and the Truth About America” by Scott Shane. In it, he takes a long, hard look at America’s purported exceptionalism. Consider these facts he cites:

At the same time, America is number one in incarcerating its citizens, with a lock-up rate far higher than that of Russia, Cuba, Iran or China; in obesity, we easily outweigh second-place Mexico and “boast” a rate nearly ten times that of Japan; in energy use per person we also rank highest, with double the consumption of prosperous Germany.

These statistics are jarring, to say the least. As Americans and as Jews, let’s not kid ourselves. This is a great country. But we’ve got plenty of work – plenty of repairing – to do, not only to the world as a whole (including, yes, the Israel/Palestine situation), but glaringly right here at home. How this country is governed, and by whom, will impact mightily on whether and how these problems are addressed. We need to weigh in, and heavily, during this upcoming election. So, just for the record, I’ll say it – though for this listening audience I hope and expect it’s hardly needed: Let’s vote, and let’s make sure every one of our friends and family are voting too.

Yes, VOTE! You don’t need another reason than this (as we’re fond of saying in Yiddish): For a besere velt (a better world)...and a besere U.S.A.!

Michael FelsenThe author is an attorney, and president of Boston Workmen's Circle